July 31st
by ShiroMoon
Summary: After finding out that he only has the day of the event to prepare, Ulquiorra is launched into celebrating Grimmjow's birthday for the first time since knowing him. (A Night and Day related oneshot. AU, GrimmUlqui.)


**Author's notes;** I didn't think I'd do anything for Grimmjow's birthday and literally the day before his birthday, I got this idea and knew it had to happen and wrote the entire thing today, thus it might not be perfect or anything spectacular but I hope it is still enjoyable.

I love the Night and Day verse and definitely plan to do more with it. A sequel is in the works guys, I can't guarantee when it will be out, but I can confirm it is definitely happening.

This little one shot takes place five months after the end of the original story. As per usual, the characters bare little resemblance to the original source material and behave like humans rather than the unfeeling but loveable killers that they are. With that said, I hope everyone enjoys this little story (I say little but it is actually thirty pages ha, ha) and thank you for giving it a read.

Happy Birthday to the awesome Grimmjow and thanks to Tite Kubo for giving us such a fun character that is so much more than he initially appears.

Also, if you haven't read Night and Day, you may be in for some** spoilers.**

* * *

The little bell dinged softly as the door to the Japanese pastry shop opened and Ulquiorra Cifer stepped in from the heat and felt the cool air from the AC above his head wash over him.

The sweet smell of red bean paste and bread wafted to his nose and he walked past a display full of various delicious looking cakes and seated himself at a little booth near the window, slipping his bag from his shoulder with a content sigh.

He had barely completely seated himself before a smiling waitress greeted him and asked what he'd like to drink. Ulquiorra replied, "A green tea." and she walked off to get him one. Ulquiorra lay back in his seat and wiped at his brow, looking around the small, cozy interior of the shop expectantly.

He didn't see her anywhere. Where was she? He idly bounced his leg up and down beneath the table, worrying that perhaps this wasn't the right place. But how could it be? This was the only Japanese pastry shop on the street.

Just as he prepared to send her a text notifying her that he'd arrived, the front door opened and Nelliel walked in and looked around. Ulquiorra waved to her and her face lit up like a beacon. She gave him a wide smile and hurried to his table. Ulquiorra prepared to greet her but was given a crushing hug which he returned with an awkward pat on the back.

"Hey! Did I keep you waiting?" Nelliel asked, sitting down across from him. Ulquiorra shook his head. "No, I just got here." Nelliel sighed with relief. "Thank goodness. Look at this place, it's so cute!" She noted, admiring the colorful paintings of cutesy animals on the windows. Ulquiorra asked, "How are things?" Nelliel said, "Things are great! I'm still doing a bit of organizing at my new place, but I love it. I want you to come over sometime."

That would be nice. He'd seen pictures of her new home in Chelsea. "What about you? Grimmjow told me things are going great between you guys." Ulquiorra nodded. "Yes, things are good. " Things were much better than "good" actually.

Five months they'd been together now, from March to July. To others it probably wasn't a lot of time at all, but Ulquiorra couldn't be happier. They had their ups and downs, but things were otherwise very peaceful. There were no Yakuza to threaten them, no feelings of fear or unease to plague them. It was bliss, pure bliss and Ulquiorra loved every day he spent with Grimmjow, even the days where he constantly had to remind him to not just leave his shoes in the middle of the doorway.

"How is your screenplay?" Nelliel inquired and Ulquiorra prepared to reply but was interrupted when the waitress set his green tea down.

"Thank you. My screenplay is fine, it's…" He paused. It was honestly being a bit annoying. "It is tiring at times. But overall I'm satisfied with it."

"Do you know when it will be finished?" Nelliel asked and Ulquiorra said, "I'm about… halfway through. It might be done by the end of this year, but who can say."

"How exciting! Hey, wasn't Grimmjow supposed to meet us?" she asked, looking around expectantly.

Ulquiorra checked his watch. "About a minute more." He told her and she giggled. "What?" Ulquiorra asked and Nelliel said, "Nothing, it's just funny to imagine—," A door behind the counter opened and Grimmjow walked out, carrying a tray full of red bean filled pastries which he loaded into the display case.

He dusted flour off his jeans and apron and looked up, bright blue eyes catching sight of them. A bright grin lit up his face and he removed his white hat, revealing a head of disheveled bright blue hair. He hurried out from around the counter and Nelliel jumped up to great him with a big hug. Grimmjow clapped her on the back and Nelliel said teasingly, "Look at you in your apron!" and Grimmjow gave her a look.

"Jealous that I look better in this than you do?" Grimmjow asked, pulling his hat down over her eyes with a grin and making eye contact with Ulquiorra over her shoulder. Ulquiorra felt his heart beat just a little faster as their eyes met and Grimmjow's smile got just a little wider at the sight of him. Ulquiorra didn't think he'd ever get tired of that smile.

Grimmjow strode to him and said, "What? Not gonna rush up and hug me?" Ulquiorra shrugged. "I'm just here for the food." Grimmjow grinned wider, his eyes full of affection. Ulquiorra really was tempted to tease him about the apron, affectionately of course, but Grimmjow's smiling lips were just too alluring to neglect.

So Ulquiorra beckoned him over and Grimmjow hurried to him and kissed him. It was a chaste kiss, full of giddy joy and affection, and Ulquiorra prepared to pull away after the first three seconds that it lasted but Grimmjow placed a hand at the nape of his neck to keep him there just a few seconds longer. He appreciated that to Grimmjow, even a kiss so short and simple had to be done with as much feeling as he could.

"Oh gosh, get a _room_, you two." Nelliel said and Ulquiorra chuckled against Grimmjow's smiling lips and pulled away. Grimmjow let him and plopped into the booth beside him with a tired sigh. "Shut up." He replied and Nelliel stuck her tongue out at him. "Meanie." Ulquiorra looked over at Grimmjow and asked, "Tired?"

Grimmjow shook his head stubbornly. "Nah. Just been on my feet all day. Made some really good stuff though. Have you had the cheesecake?" he asked, gesturing a hand towards the display case. Nelliel peered around him and said, "Ooh! That looks delicious! You made that?" She asked, wide eyed.

Grimmjow grinned smugly. "Yeah. We've had to make extras today 'cause everyone kept buyin' it. The stuff is like sex, it _sells_." Ulquiorra couldn't blame them. Grimmjow had practiced making cheesecakes at home and Ulquiorra, who barely ever ate sweets, had taken extra "breaks" from his writing whenever he got stuck to grab slices from the fridge. He was honestly surprised he hadn't gained weight because of how much he'd eaten.

Ulquiorra hadn't known this about Grimmjow as they'd had no reason to bring it up back in Japan, but Grimmjow was actually a very good cook. Since they'd moved in together, Grimmjow had taken it upon himself to cook meals for them and Ulquiorra quickly discovered just how good a cook he was.

This new job as a pastry chef hadn't been Grimmjow's first choice and the words "Grimmjow" and "pastry chef" weren't exactly something you'd hear in the same sentence, but Grimmjow was fantastic at his job. Ulquiorra heard his coworkers complimenting him when he came here, talking about how dedicated he was to his craft.

He also overheard some coworkers talking about how crazy he was in the kitchen; apparently Grimmjow accepted nothing but the best and made it his responsibility to inspect most of the foods to make sure they were good enough to be served.

Ulquiorra was proud of him. He knew how much it had upset Grimmjow to be denied his chance at wrestling, and he was still trying to get a job in wrestling, but Ulquiorra was proud that he'd manage to find something else that he enjoyed in the mean time. Nelliel called to the waitress, "Excuse me, a slice of cheesecake, please!"

"Two." Ulquiorra corrected.

"Never mind, two slices!"

"One for me as well." Grimmjow said.

"Three slices!" Nelliel called and the waitress hurried to fetch their sweets. Nelliel said, "If it is as good as you say, I might just have more. Ulquiorra and I will be their least favorite customers by the end of tonight." She joked and the waitress bustled over with their cakes.

Ulquiorra ate his a little too eagerly, remembering all too well how good these were. Nelliel ate a slice and her eyes went wide. Grimmjow glanced up from his plate with a knowing smirk, already predicting their reactions to his food. "I knew you were good, Grimmjow, but oh my gosh! I didn't know you could make cheesecakes, especially not as good as this!" Nelliel praised and Grimmjow said, "Just one of my many talents."

"Okay, don't overdo it." Nelliel said and Grimmjow beamed with pride and lay back in his seat, more content to watch his friends eat than actually join them. Ulquiorra wanted to admire Grimmjow's culinary skills too, but he was too busy enjoying his food. He took one more bite and said, "It's fantastic." Grimmjow's face lit up. "Really?" He asked, grinning from ear to ear.

Nelliel shook her head fondly. What had happened to the days where her words could light up his face like that? She suddenly said, "Oh, I almost forgot!" and she reached into her purple handbag and jumped to her feet and hurried to him. "What?" Grimmjow asked, surprised by her sudden outburst of enthusiasm. Ulquiorra watched, curious as well.

Nelliel pulled two cards from her handbag and held them out to him, looking ready to burst with excitement. "Happy early birthday! I got us reservations at that cute little restaurant by Grand Central! You know the one that reminded you of a trolley cart?"

Ulquiorra stopped eating; in fact, he choked and started to cough.

Grimmjow thumped his back absentmindedly and said, "Oh come on, Nell! I told you, I don't wanna make a big thing out of this!"

Nelliel said disappointedly, "Grimmjow, please? We used to celebrate them all the time when you were younger!"

"Turning twenty-seven ain't anything to be happy about." Grimmjow said, looking irritated. "Twenty-seven is only a few years off from thirty!" Nelliel rolled her eyes and said, "And when you hit thirty, _what_ happens?" Grimmjow said, "You start turning into a wrinkly sack, your hair turns gray, your dick stops functioning and then you hit forty and shit hits the fan."

Ulquiorra stopped choking and sipped his tea with wide eyes, unable to believe what he was hearing. It was Grimmjow's birthday and he had absolutely no idea! What was he going to do?!

Nelliel gripped her friend's arm and said pleadingly, "Come on, Grimmjow. No matter how old you get, you'll always be the same man to me. Nothing would make me happier than to celebrate your birthday with you. Besides, you'll never be twenty again, right?"

Grimmjow's scowl slipped from his face and he sighed. Ulquiorra knew what he was going through. Nell was just impossibly to say no to. "Fine, fine, fine. It looks like a nice place to eat anyway, so alright." Nelliel looked so happy. "Thank you, Grimmjow. It will be fun."

Grimmjow's name was called from behind the counter and the blue haired male turned and said, "Hang on, gotta go see what this dolt wants." He muttered, grabbing his hat from the table.

"Dammit, Reggie, I've been over this five times with you! You stir the cheesecake batter 'till it's not too thick or too thin, if you fucked these up—!" Grimmjow stormed off into the kitchen to deal with the cheesecake crisis and Ulquiorra sat numbly in his chair, feeling like his brain had just broken.

Nelliel sat down with a fond sigh and took sight of him and frowned. "Hmm? What's wrong?" Ulquiorra said, "I…I had no idea that June was Grimmjow's birthday…" What on earth was he going to do? Nelliel clapped a hand to her mouth. "Oh, I'm so sorry! I've freaked you out, haven't I?" Ulquiorra leaned back in his seat. "I'm sorry, Ulquiorra! I thought he told you! Oh, but why would he? He hates that he's turning twenty-seven!"

Perhaps this was salvageable, though. "When is it?" Ulquiorra asked, hoping that perhaps he'd have a reasonable amount of time to whip something decent up.

"Tomorrow."

"Tomorrow?" Ulquiorra repeated blankly and she nodded guiltily. Great. What was he supposed to do for Grimmjow's birthday in such a short amount of time? "You know what; he'd probably like to have dinner with his boyfriend." Nelliel said, handing out her reservation cards. Ulquiorra had to admit, he was tempted just to cheat and take them. Nelliel's gift to Grimmjow was so good, it was sure to satisfy Grimmjow.

But he couldn't just take them. It was too easy and Grimmjow meant too much to him to do something as half-assed as to take credit for Nelliel's idea. But that was what made this situation so hard. Grimmjow meant so much to him that Ulquiorra knew that he had to make tomorrow_ absolutely_ perfect for him.

Ulquiorra said, "No. You go to dinner with him, he'll enjoy it."

"But what will you do?" Nelliel asked him and Ulquiorra shrugged, wordless. He had no idea what he would do. But he would have to make it good. "Ulquiorra?" She asked worriedly and Ulquiorra said quickly, "No idea. I've only ever celebrated my mother and father's birthdays when I was little. My mother's gone, and up until recently my father rejected every gift I've ever sent him."

She frowned. "That must make you feel very worried, but I'm sure Grimmjow will love whatever you get him. Even if you get him nothing at all, just having you around should be enough."

Ulquiorra didn't think so. He'd never felt like enough for his father and having all his heartfelt gifts rejected had made him uncertain about just how good his gift-giving skills were.

"Hey," Nelliel said, patting his arm. "Call me tomorrow and we can think of something together, I've celebrated enough birthdays to have a good idea about how to do them and I know Grimmjow well enough to know what he'll like. How about it?"

She gave him a reassuring smile and Ulquiorra couldn't help but feel the burden lift from his shoulders just a little. "If you'd like." Nelliel patted his arm again and said, "This will be fun, Ulquiorra. Your first birthday together! Grimmjow, the reservations are at 7:00!" she called and Grimmjow's voice boomed. "I'm comin'!"

He flung open the kitchen doors and called, "Reggie, leave them in overnight and _call me_ after you take them out! I don't want you fuckin' 'em up!" Grimmjow hurried to Nelliel, pulling on his coat. "Alright, let's get goin'." He walked to Ulquiorra and said, "See you later." And Ulquiorra nodded numbly and said, "Sure." Grimmjow cocked a brow. "Somethin' wrong?"

Ulquiorra shook his head quickly. "No. Enjoy yourself." Ulquiorra beckoned the waitress over to pay the bill but Grimmjow said, "I got it. This is on me." He handed the waitress a wad of cash before Ulquiorra could protest. Ulquiorra followed Nelliel and Grimmjow to the door and Grimmjow hailed a cab.

Nelliel jumped into the taxi and Grimmjow turned to Ulquiorra and gave him a quick but passionate kiss goodbye before he jumped in. Nelliel waved as the car drove away and Ulquiorra raised a hand in farewell. He watched the taxi disappear around the corner and frowned as his worries returned.

He could still feel Grimmjow's lips against his skin; the sensation brought a feeling of comfort but at the same time, filled him with concern. He wanted to create a day that lingered with Grimmjow in the same way that his kisses did with Ulquiorra. He didn't know how, but he had to make tomorrow the best day of Grimmjow's life.

So that was exactly what he would do. He would accept nothing but the best for tomorrow; he would take him to see the best movie, he would cook him his favorite meal, whatever Grimmjow wanted he would get, even if it meant letting him leave his smelly shoes around the house.

And with new found determination, Ulquiorra set off for home to get an early night of sleep in preparation for tomorrow.

* * *

Ulquiorra awoke on the 31st of July to the feeling of Grimmjow's arms wrapped around his chest. He leaned back in the warm body behind him and stretched out, opening both his eyes in order to get a look at the digital clock on his bedside table.

It was 7:00 in the morning and that was good. He had plenty of time to start preparing for the day so there wasn't any need to rush. Ulquiorra placed his hand on Grimmjow's arm and gave it a gentle rub and felt Grimmjow press his solid, warm body up against Ulquiorra's back.

Grimmjow's lips dragged across the bare skin of his shoulder in a tired kiss, the hand around Ulquiorra's chest moved to rub up and down his side. Ulquiorra's brain was still half asleep along with most of the rest of his body; his cock however was not.

Why not make the morning of Grimmjow's birthday an eventful one?

Grimmjow's head had fallen back onto the pillow and his hand had ceased it's movements but Ulquiorra wasn't too deterred by Grimmjow's tiredness. Ulquiorra rocked his hips back against Grimmjow's pelvis and Grimmjow let loose a quiet groan.

Ulquiorra replicated the movement and Grimmjow pressed his face into his neck and wrapped an arm around Ulquiorra's waist, arching his hips into Ulquiorra's buttocks. Encouraged, Ulquiorra swayed his hips back and forth and felt Grimmjow give a couple of lazy thrusts into his movements.

Grimmjow's lips were back on his skin now, kissing a trail from his shoulder to his neck with increasing fervor as Ulquiorra quickened his movements. Both their breathing patterns had accelerated now and they were both slowly waking up along with their bodies as a primal need stronger than sleep quickly set in.

Needing more, Ulquiorra turned himself around and kissed Grimmjow hard on the mouth and Grimmjow kissed him back, wrapping an arm around his shoulders to bring him closer. Ulquiorra traced Grimmjow's jawline with his lips and then sucked and nipped along the man's strong collarbone before kissing further down his chest, disappearing beneath the blankets. He'd just kissed halfway down Grimmjow's stomach when he heard a snore and furrowed his brows in disbelief.

Was he—?

Ulquiorra pulled back the covers and found Grimmjow dozing off on his pillow. "Are you serious?" Ulquiorra muttered and Grimmjow's snore was cut off as he jolted awake. "Hm? Wha'?" he began groggily and Ulquiorra gave him a look. Grimmjow looked flustered. "Hey, it's not my fault you're up earlier than the fucking sun."

Ulquiorra ignored his foul mood and kissed him again. Grimmjow had been out for a very long time with Nelliel last night, and then when he'd come home he'd jumped Ulquiorra in the shower and then later on while Ulquiorra was trying to do do his traditional book-before-bed routine, so he supposed he shouldn't be too surprised.

Ulquiorra's lips left Grimmjow's and kissed the man's neck, pressing his lips gently to Grimmjow's pulse and he felt the man's heartbeat exhilarate against his lips. Grimmjow shivered beneath him and he pulled Ulquiorra close. Underneath the lust quickening his own heart, Ulquiorra felt tender affection at Grimmjow's actions.

Things were going perfectly.

Ulquiorra ran a hand down Grimmjow's stomach; tracing every muscle and feeling them quiver as his fingertips ghosted over the nerves in Grimmjow's abdomen. Ulquiorra dipped his hand past Grimmjow's hips and a pleased groan escaped Grimmjow's lips. The sound coaxed a smaller one from Ulquiorra and he continued to kiss his lover's neck, nipping and sucking on his skin.

His kisses slowed and he frowned when he realized that nothing was happening. Normally by now, if it hadn't happened even sooner, Grimmjow would be as hard as he was, but for some reason…Ulquiorra quickened his strokes, frowning.

"Grimmjow?"

"_What_?" Grimmjow said sharply and he gave Ulquiorra the iciest glare Ulquiorra had ever seen, as if daring him to say something. Ulquiorra hesitated. Grimmjow prided himself very much in his ability to perform. "You're not getting—,"

Ulquiorra really wasn't sure what to say; they'd never been in this situation before. What should he do? He was disappointed but perhaps they would have to save this for later. It was no big deal, they could have coffee and watch the news or something. "It's completely understandable, we can just—," Grimmjow's ears were bright red now.

"What, you think I don't want to?" Grimmjow asked and Ulquiorra said quickly, "No, no I—,"

"'Cause I do, alright?" Grimmjow said defensively, "I'm just _tired,_ that's _all_!"

Ulquiorra frowned. "You were tired last night but you were perfectly happy to do it in the shower and right before we went bed."

Grimmjow flung up his arms and said, "What the hell do you want from me, Cifer?!" And he wrenched the blankets over his bright red face and disappeared from sight. Ulquiorra's mood was instantly killed and he felt stupid now. Instead of making Grimmjow feel special, he'd just made him feel like there were unrealistic expectations being put on him.

Ulquiorra reached out and placed his hand on the huddled lump beneath the blankets. The moment he made contact with Grimmjow, Grimmjow shot from bed and hurried from the room and into the bathroom down the hall. Ulquiorra stared after him and fell back into bed with a sigh.

What a great way to start Grimmjow's birthday.

* * *

Ulquiorra made a decent sized breakfast of pancakes, eggs and breakfast sausage and he and Grimmjow sat at the table together, which Ulquiorra supposed was lucky considering how embarrassed Grimmjow still was. Grimmjow refused to hold eye contact with him and he ate with a very disturbed looked on his face.

"Maybe I should see a doctor. Maybe there's somethin' wrong with me." Ulquiorra set his fork down and stared at him. "There is nothing wrong with you and it really doesn't matter. Our relationship isn't based upon how many times a day we have sex." Grimmjow said, "That ain't the _point_, Ulquiorra! This has never happened to me before! What the hell's wrong with me?"

"You're human?" Ulquiorra suggested, stabbing some egg with his fork. He hated that he'd made Grimmjow feel bad like this. He wished he'd just pretended not to notice. "Shit. Maybe I'm getting old." Grimmjow fretted, his brows knit together in worry. "Twenty-seven isn't "old". " Ulquiorra argued and Grimmjow just scowled down at his food.

Giving up on trying to convince him, Ulquiorra asked, "Is there anything you'd like to do today? There are lots of good plays we could see, there are movies, too." Grimmjow shrugged and Ulquiorra said, "I'll be sure to steer clear of any titles with the word "hard" in it if that would be helpful." Grimmjow gave him a look and Ulquiorra looked down at the table.

Come on. The entire day couldn't be composed of this. Ulquiorra looked down at his plate with a frown. He supposed that the sooner he got Grimmjow out of the house the better. He heard Grimmjow's chair scoot back against the floor and heard his feet thump over in his direction, he walked heavily and with purpose, so Ulquiorra could only assume he had just gotten some kind of idea.

He looked up to see just what Grimmjow was doing and found Grimmjow standing in front of him and gripping his arms with a playful smile. Ulquiorra allowed himself to be pulled to his feet and Grimmjow kissed him the moment he was on his feet, his hands slipping around Ulquiorra's waist and pressing their bodies close together.

Ulquiorra didn't push him away even though he'd really just wanted to start getting their day planned out with him, instead he slipped his eyes closed and returned the kiss with feeling. In the back of his mind, Ulquiorra hit himself, annoyed with his lack of control.

He knew that he was supposed to be planning today out, that he was supposed to be the one controlling today and making sure that things happened according to what little plan he had, instead all he really wanted to do was spend the rest of the day like this with Grimmjow.

Knowing that he'd hate himself later for this, Ulquiorra reluctantly broke the kiss and began, "Grimmjow," Grimmjow wasn't put off and kissed along the side of his neck and Ulquiorra's breathing quickened. "Hmm?" Grimmjow purred. "I really think we should—," Forming a coherent sentence was difficult now with Grimmjow nipping and sucking his neck.

"Do it on the table? How kinky of you, Ulquiorra." Grimmjow said sultrily, pulling back the collar on Ulquiorra's shirt and kissing his exposed shoulder. He liked that idea, very, very much but he insisted, "No, I really think we should—,"

Ulquiorra lifted Grimmjow's arm off his shoulder and prepared to step away. Grimmjow grabbed his fast by the hips and his lips showered kisses upon his neck again. "Come on, Ulqui," Grimmjow said playfully, touching his forehead to Ulquiorra's and staring deeply into his eyes. "I'm the birthday boy, ain't I? You can't say no to me, not today."

That was good enough reasoning, Ulquiorra decided, and he quickly dispensed any control he had and kissed Grimmjow heartily. Today was about making Grimmjow feel special anyway, so whatever he wanted, he got. Grimmjow returned the kiss with zeal and began to unbutton Ulquiorra's shirt. Something jutted hard into Ulquiorra's hips and he froze, shooting a glance downwards at the taller man's jeans.

Grimmjow grinned proudly at him and Ulquiorra said, "Well, you can cancel that doctor's appointment, I don't think you'll need it." Grimmjow kissed him with smiling lips and Ulquiorra seated himself on the table and wrapped his legs around Grimmjow's waist. The phone rang shrilly behind them and Grimmjow exclaimed, "No, come on!" and Ulquiorra growled in annoyance.

"Get it quickly." Ulquiorra ordered and Grimmjow raced to it and picked it up. "What? Uh huh. Uh huh. Fuck you, Reggie, you fucking idiot." He practically tossed the phone down in his haste to get back to Ulquiorra and they kissed with abandon. "Just out of curiosity," Ulquiorra began breathlessly as Grimmjow kissed hungrily at his neck. "Reggie fucked up the cheesecakes I made." Grimmjow answered, his hands roaming Ulquiorra's upper body.

"Do they need you?" Ulquiorra asked, brushing aside strands of bright blue to kiss Grimmjow's earlobe. Grimmjow said impatiently, "They can live without me for an hour, you on the other hand…" He added lustfully, preparing to kiss Ulquiorra. Ulquiorra moved his head away and said, "I on the other hand am not worth you getting fired."

Grimmjow frowned. "The hell are you talkin' about, sure you are." He replied, placing tender kisses to Ulquiorra's neck. Ulquiorra ordered, "Go." Grimmjow sighed and muttered, "Come on…" Grimmjow lay against him for a moment and then he straightened up and walked to the door to fetch his shoes, leaving Ulquiorra to button up his shirt and feel strangely cold as Grimmjow's body heat left along with him.

They'd have time for each other later today and being apart from Grimmjow, while lonesome, would mean Ulquiorra had time to go about preparing the day for him. Ulquiorra accompanied him to the door while Grimmjow quickly straightened his hair and his shirt with a few brushes of his hands and turned to Ulquiorra.

"See you, then." Grimmjow said and Ulquiorra nodded. Grimmjow pulled him in for a quick, chaste kiss before he reluctantly stepped out the door and left Ulquiorra staring longingly after him. The door closed and silence fell and Ulquiorra couldn't help but feel a little alone without Grimmjow.

But it was time to start working and he had no time to lose. Ulquiorra sat himself down at the computer and quickly looked up various cake recipes. He didn't know what kind Grimmjow liked. There was a possibility he liked cheesecake considering how many he made, but Ulquiorra wanted to make absolutely sure.

So he gave Nelliel a call. She answered the phone with a yawn. "Hmm? Ulquiorra, good morning." She greeted tiredly and Ulquiorra said, "Sorry to wake you, but I need to start getting Grimmjow's birthday ready. Do you know what kind of cake he likes?" Ulquiorra asked, his fingertips at the ready to type down the recipe for whatever answer she gave him.

"Hmm…Hmmm….Hmmmmm—,"

"Nelliel?"

"Oh, um…yeah…I don't actually know." she replied with a huge yawn in between her words. Ulquiorra scowled. "Really?" He said more bitterly than he meant and she said quickly, "No need to get uppity, Ulquiorra. Let me think…ummmm…Well, you could always combine his favorite things…he likes whiskey, he likes boiled octopus…"

"So boiled octopus doused in whiskey, then?" Ulquiorra asked, unable to believe what he was hearing." Wow, you are so sassy in the morning! Be creative! Maybe it could be a cake with whiskey batter and then a serving of boiled octopus!"

"No."

"Okay…look, I'll be over in a little bit to help." She hung up and Ulquiorra slumped over with an impatient sigh. He wouldn't be so sassy if a certain _someone _hadn't left him with a terrible case of blue balls and then another certain _someone_ that said she would_ help_ really hadn't _helped_.

Nelliel sounded half asleep when he called and he didn't trust her to be here quickly enough, so he went into the images section and checked the recipe for whatever cake he saw that looked the best. He decided he'd make a red velvet cake and quickly checked his cupboards for everything the recipe required. This required a huge amount of ingredients, but the reviews for the cake were fantastic and Ulquiorra wanted nothing but the best.

He had most of what was needed. Now he just needed to bake the cake. He called Nelliel to let her know he was ready.

"Hi, Ulquiorra, I'm stuck in traffic and I probably won't be there for a few minutes…ugh…actually, make that an hour."

Perfect. He was on his own.

So Ulquiorra preheated the oven, prepared the ingredients and mixed them together. It was a very messy process; he got flour all over the counter and his black dress shirt, he overfilled the teaspoon with oil and it dripped onto the counter.

He poured the batter evenly into two cake pans and when the timer beeped, loaded them into the oven and timed the cakes to bake for forty minutes. Exhausted, he lay back against the counter and jolted his elbow away when it cracked open one of the extra eggs he'd forgotten to put away.

He was cleaning up his kitchen when Nelliel arrived earlier than expected and she hurried into the kitchen with him. "It smells really good," she said excitedly and Ulquiorra nodded tiredly. "I don't know why any cake would ever need so many ingredients." He said a little grumpily and Nelliel checked the recipe on his computer. "Wow, the reviews are great. I'll have to make this myself sometime!" she said.

While they waited for the cake to bake, they turned on the television and chatted. Ulquiorra was on his phone making a list of the things he wanted himself and Grimmjow to do today. He paused, frowning at his list. He needed to get Grimmjow a present. He'd never been good with gifts and if he was, he didn't know because his father had rejected all of them in the past. Since their relationship was on the mend, that might possibly change but only if Ulquiorra could work up the courage to send him one. Which was not likely to happen.

"Something wrong?"

"I need to get Grimmjow a gift. I just don't know what." Ulquiorra said with a worried frown. "I still have a few hours until he gets off from work, so there should be enough time to shop for something," he said more to himself than Nelliel, trying his hardest to think of what he could get Grimmjow that felt good enough.

"They'll be plenty of time!" Nelliel said confidently. "Don't forget a card, too." And Ulquiorra quickly added that to his list. "What should I get him?" Ulquiorra asked her and she tapped her lips, her big hazel eyes looking up towards the ceiling as she thought. "He loves video games; back in Japan he played this game called Dark Souls. It always made him so angry, but he told me he loved it for some reason. Maybe you could get him that?"

Ulquiorra didn't think that was good enough.

Nelliel giggled and said, "Or you could give him the gift of…your body. You know, be romantic!" Ulquiorra's ears got warm and he replied, "I tried that, we got interrupted." He wasn't going to put that idea on the shelf though. "Alright then, how about we go out and browse the shops? If you see something you like, then we'll get it!"

Ulquiorra liked that idea, although it sounded time consuming. He added, "I don't want it to take too long. Can you write down a few store names, but keep it simple." He said, standing to his feet to go check on the cake. Nelliel took his phone and began to type up the names of some stores in their area. Ulquiorra walked into the kitchen and the timer beeped, notifying him that it was time to remove the cake.

He opened the oven and stared in horror at what he saw within.

The cakes had exploded, completely spilling over from their pans and all over the over racks. Ulquiorra closed the oven door and turned off the heat. "What?" Nelliel asked, looking at him in concern. Ulquiorra pointed to the oven in response. She rolled her eyes and smiled. "You're so dramatic, honestly…" she said, striding into the kitchen and opening the oven.

"Oh my god!" She exclaimed, looking to him with her mouth hanging open and her eyes wide. "What did you do?!" she asked, humor in her voice. Ulquiorra flung up his hands in response, wondering why it didn't seem at all possible for him to do anything right today. "Well, maybe it's still edible." Nelliel reasoned, putting on the oven mitts and setting the cakes down on the counter.

"Did you bring the icing like I asked?" Ulquiorra asked her, looking down in misery at his messy oven. "Sure, they are in my handbag." Ulquiorra retrieved the containers of cream cheese icing from her bag and returned to the kitchen with them.

Ulquiorra took the mitts from her and turned the cake pan upside down over a plate but the cake refused to come out. "Ulquiorra, those are really moist. They should probably be refrigerated." Nelliel advised him and Ulquiorra said, "You're sure? Can you check the recipe?" Nelliel moved away and Ulquiorra patted the back of the pan but the cake refused to fall onto the plate.

He smacked the pan hard and the cake fell out—or half of it did. Ulquiorra stared down at the broken cake and wanted to stuff his head into the oven. "Alright, you are supposed to refrigerate them to firm them and—," Nelliel went quiet at the sight of the crumbled half of the cake and said, "Well, it should still taste good."

Ulquiorra set the pan down with a sigh and carried the broken cake towards the garbage. "Ulquiorra, come on, it will taste fine!" Ulquiorra said, "I am not giving him a broken cake, Nelliel." Nelliel took the plate from him and said, "Making another one will use up more time." She put the cake half into the fridge and then loaded in the cake pans.

Ulquiorra didn't like this. Who had ever given anyone a broken cake for their birthday? He could just see his father's disapproving face in his head. "No, this isn't good enough." Ulquiorra said, striding to the refrigerator and Nelliel blocked him. "It's perfectly fine, Ulquiorra! After it's cooled, we'll combine them, ice them and no one will notice!"

"I will." Ulquiorra said, attempting to reach around her for the handle. "Ulquiorra, just leave it!" Nelliel exclaimed. "Everything will be fine, alright?" Ulquiorra said firmly, "No, no it won't. He'll hate this, he'll be disappointed and he'll—,"

"Love it, Ulquiorra! He will _love it_! I'm not saying this because I'm your friend or because I want to make you feel better. I'm serious, Ulquiorra. He will be so touched that you made him a cake for his birthday."

"A broken one."

"Ulquiorra, no one has ever done something for him like this. No one has ever made him a cake; I would have but I'm a terrible cook, and his mother certainly never did." Ulquiorra knew the truth in her words; they hit him hard in the heart. "That's why this needs to be good. I can't have the first cake anyone's baked for him be a crumbled mess."

"Broken or not, he will love it. And he'll love _you_ for it. So I am_ ordering_ you not to touch it. We're on a schedule, remember?" She reminded him and Ulquiorra chewed his inner lip, conflicted. He was dying to make another one; he couldn't get his father's indifferent look and uncaring voice from his head. He knew Grimmjow wouldn't say such cold things or reject his gifts like his father had, but the thought still worried him, so much so that the idea of giving Grimmjow anything made him cringe.

"Ulquiorra?"

Ulquiorra was jolted from his thoughts and he said, "Alright, let's go, but if there's still time I'm making him another one."

* * *

They took a crowded train to a nearby shopping district and headed up into the streets. It was a bit chilly today, which Ulquiorra thought was ridiculous. It was the middle of summer for crying out loud. But the clouds were overcast and there were particularly dark clouds moving in towards their area.

Ulquiorra could foresee trouble ahead.

"Hey, there's a Ricky's." Nelliel said, pointing towards the store. "They sometimes have good cards there." Ulquiorra headed inside with her and she led him around the store. There were most beauty products in here, things like hair gel, makeup and skin care and hair products. But they did find some cards on a rack near the back of the store.

Ulquiorra rotated the rack, looking for any cards that he thought might be good enough to give to Grimmjow. Most of them were rather sexual. He found one that he liked; it was simple and not lewd like most of the others. But was it too simple? He looked over it with a more scrutinizing eye. It was white and had a picture of two birds sharing a seed together.

He supposed the birds might be a bit cutesy, but the pull he felt towards this card was for the meaning that the birds had. Back in December of last year when they'd been in Japan, they'd gone sightseeing together at a temple and they both bought bird-shaped red bean paste treats and ate (and played with) them outside the temple while the snow fell around them.

He considered putting it back, thinking that it was stupid to get so nostalgic over a card, but he had a feeling Grimmjow would get the meaning behind the birds on the card and so he decided to keep it.

He hoped Grimmjow would get it, anyway.

"Hey, Ulquiorra," he turned and saw Nelliel with a mischievous smile pointing towards a beaded curtain. His lips threatening to twitch into a smile, Ulquiorra walked over to see what the woman was smiling so devilishly about.

He peered through the beaded curtain and when he saw what lay beyond, he gave her a look. "You have an evil mind, woman." He chastised her, giving a shake of his head. "What, you don't want something for your romantic after-party?" she joked. "I don't think our level of trust is high enough for…that." Ulquiorra said, eying the whips and hand-cuffs hanging on a shelf.

Nelliel doubled over with laughter and Ulquiorra shook his head and proceeded to the register. "Just imagine; you're a cashier and someone walks up to your counter with one of those great, big—," Nelliel said, giggling too hard to finish and Ulquiorra chuckled.

She had quite the wicked mind on her!

Ulquiorra paid for his card and Nelliel bought some hair products for herself at the last minute. They left the store, Nelliel still joking about the backroom, and moved through a crowded street to head to a clothing store.

Clothes were a boring choice in Ulquiorra's opinion, but he felt that regardless of whether it was Grimmjow's birthday, he simply needed them and they would make him feel happy, especially since he'd been complaining about having a lack of clothes to wear. They hurried into the clothing store and Ulquiorra breathed a sigh of relief, content to be out of the crowds.

They browsed the aisles for shirts, Nelliel picked out two that she thought looked good and Ulquiorra agreed with her choice, thinking the color would look good on him. Ulquiorra also picked out some jeans with rips in the knees, knowing that Grimmjow liked the style. He also picked out some socks since he knew Grimmjow was severely lacking in them.

They waited in a small line to get to the register and after a brief wait, they prepared to have their items checked out. The cashier rang up the total amount and Ulquiorra reached into his back pocket for his wallet—only to find that it wasn't there! Alarmed, he patted himself down, his heart in his throat. "Oh no." He patted himself down again, checking every single pocket on him twice.

"Oh no, did you forget your wallet?" Nelliel asked and Ulquiorra said, "No, no I didn't. I had it with me when we left Ricky's." Ulquiorra checked all his pockets for a third time and said, "Wait here." and he hurried away from Nelliel and walked back around the store, retracing his steps.

There was no way he'd been mugged; he'd lived in New York for years, there was no way that someone had chosen today of all days to rob him! He raced outside and checked the street, retraced his steps all the way back to the subway, but he found nothing.

Why him?! A city full of people and some asshole had spotted him in a crowd _full _of other people and picked _him_?! In high school, he had practically been the wall; no one had ever noticed him then, but oh _now_ someone did and it was a criminal! Perfect!

Ulquiorra made an immediate call to the bank and asked that his bank card get shut off, then he called his American Express cardholder and asked that that be shut off, too. Next he hurried up to a police officer that was patrolling nearby and reported the crime. They guaranteed to get the guy, reassuring him that he wasn't the only person to get mugged in this area.

Ulquiorra returned to the store and sat outside it with his face in his hands while he waited for Nelliel to come outside and find him. He felt someone tap his knee and he removed his face from his hands and found not Nelliel, but a little boy holding out a dollar to him. The boy laid the dollar in an abandoned coffee cup at his feet and hurried away after his mother.

"Hey, did you find it?" Nelliel asked, stepping out of the store with a worried look on her face. Ulquiorra said bitterly, "No, but I imagine that if I stand here and look as pathetic as possible, I might just earn my money back."

She looked confused.

"People think I'm homeless." Ulquiorra answered, retrieving the single dollar bill from the coffee cup at his feet. Nelliel gave him a sad smile. "Save it for a rainy day?" Ulquiorra looked up at the clouds and had a feeling that would be today. With a sigh, he stood to his feet and stuffed the dollar into his pocket.

He wasn't completely out of luck; he always carried around some extra cash in his pockets. But he hated the idea that right now someone had access to his property, his I.D. and his driver's license. He also didn't have a lot of money to get anything much more for Grimmjow.

Things couldn't get much worse, could they?

* * *

They left the store, Nelliel had paid for the clothes they'd bought Grimmjow which was great, but she'd only been able to afford the jeans that he'd picked out, since the rest of their items had been overpriced.

He hoped Grimmjow would still enjoy them regardless. Ulquiorra wanted to make up for the feeling that he hadn't really bought Grimmjow anything and so he made a quick trip into a Gamestop and bought a cheap copy of Dark Souls for him.

"He'll love this." Nelliel said, looking over the cover with interest and Ulquiorra just sighed. He hoped so. Ulquiorra only had about twenty dollars left, not enough to buy him anything expensive or extravagant.

So far everything today had felt like a slap in the face.

They walked past a thrift store and something caught his eye. He looked in the window and many things caught his eye; he saw a very nice chair that they were selling for cheap, he saw rows upon rows of jeans, tee shirts and some furniture. But there was something in the far back that caught his eye; there was a jacket that stood out to him.

Wanting to get a better look, Ulquiorra stepped inside the store and made his way towards the back. They were selling winter coats and autumn jackets for a very low price here.

Ulquiorra liked to do his winter shopping early but he'd never tried buying anything from here before, he wondered why now. The coats were very good and looked like they'd be excellent to wear in the coldest weather and best of all, they were cheap.

Ulquiorra walked to the jacket he'd had his eye on. It was styled to look like a flying jacket from World War II. The inside and the collar were padded with wool and the outside was made of real leather. With a scarf and some gloves, minus a hat because Grimmjow loathed hats, this could be very warm.

Ulquiorra checked the price and was alarmed to find that this jacket was only ten dollars. He took it from the shelf instantly and walked off to find a scarf and gloves. He picked up some leather cashmere-lined gloves and a woolen scarf and headed to check out with them. He used up the last of his money, but he didn't care.

As he left check out, he frowned at himself, wondering if he'd made the right choice. Winter was a long way off. Nelliel hurried up to him and said, "Find anything?" Ulquiorra held out the jacket to her and she said, "It's so cool!" Ulquiorra said worriedly, "He won't be able to use these for a while. Perhaps I should have gotten something else?"

But Nelliel shook her head and said, "Absolutely not. This will mean so much to him, Ulquiorra." She said warmly. "A coat he can't wear for months?" Ulquiorra said skeptically and Nelliel said, "He won't be able to stop wearing it once he does. Are you done here?" Ulquiorra nodded.

Grimmjow should be arriving home soon and Ulquiorra needed to wrap his things and ice the broken cake.

So together, they left the store and parted ways at the subway.

* * *

When Ulquiorra got home, he wrapped the video game and the since the clothes had already been gift wrapped, he set the gifts on their bed upstairs and headed down into the kitchen. He pulled the broken cake from the refrigerator and iced it generously and admired his handiwork.

It didn't look that bad covered in icing; in fact, it was hard to tell that the bottom layer was broken at all. Wanting to add a finishing touch, Ulquiorra used a cake decoration tool to write "Happy Birthday Grimmjow" on the cake. It was a little sloppy but Ulquiorra touched it up as best he could. He hoped it tasted alright.

He'd just seated himself at the computer to look for any movies playing in their area when Grimmjow walked in. "Hey!" Grimmjow called, stepping into the living room. "Welcome home." Ulquiorra greeted warmly and Grimmjow walked to him and bent down to give him a kiss. Grimmjow smelled very sweet and his lips had a faint chocolaty taste to them.

Grimmjow made to pull away but Ulquiorra slipped an arm around his neck and held him in place. Grimmjow didn't seem to mind and wrapped an arm around his waist, his warm hand resting in the small of his back. "Missed me?" Ulquiorra didn't really have an answer that would describe how happy it made him whenever Grimmjow came home. "What are you doing?" Grimmjow asked and Ulquiorra replied, "I know you've already been out to dinner, but would you be alright going again?"

Grimmjow said, "Sure, why not?" He frowned. "Wait. Ulquiorra," he began, "I thought I told you that turning twenty-seven ain't an accomplishment for me." Ulquiorra said firmly, "It is an accomplishment. It's a huge accomplishment; there were a number of times several months ago that you could have died when we went up against the Kamakiri. Not to mention the number of ways you could have died growing up on the streets. If there is anyone who deserves to have their birthday celebrated, it is you."

Grimmjow seemed to hear the truth in his words because he said, "Yeah, I know that. I just…I don't even know what the hell _this_ is, really." Grimmjow confessed, making an odd gesture to signify what "this" was. "You mean your fear of aging?" Grimmjow said quickly, "It ain't a fear!" Ulquiorra wasn't convinced. "If you aren't afraid, then may I celebrate your birthday with you?"

Grimmjow scratched his neck, a worried crease to his brow. Ulquiorra had a feeling he knew where this insecure side of Grimmjow was coming from and he said, "Grimmjow," and when Grimmjow met his gaze Ulquiorra said, "You do know that no matter how old you get, I'll love you, don't you?"

The worried frown left Grimmjow's face and his expression softened. Grimmjow seemed unsure how to reply to such a tender statement and so stared down at his feet for a moment.

"So now that that is settled, can I take you to a movie and dinner?" Grimmjow said, "…Uh…yeah, sure." He seemed strangely speechless. "Good. Now what do you want to see?" Ulquiorra asked and Grimmjow shuffled over to get a better look at the screen.

"Uh…lemme see…" he leaned over behind Ulquiorra and browsed the list of showings. He chuckled. "Wanna see "My Vampire Romance"?" and Ulquiorra made a face. Grimmjow snorted and muttered, "Sounds retarded. Hey! They're doing a showing of Clockwork Orange." Grimmjow said excitedly. Ulquiorra asked, "What time?"

"6:30." Grimmjow answered excitedly. "That's in a few minutes. If we go now we could make it!" Ulquiorra had never had a chance to see the movie, though he had read the book. He was interested in seeing the movie adaptation; he'd heard it was a classic. "Sure." Grimmjow grinned and jumped to his feet. "Get your ass in gear then, it starts twenty minutes!"

Ulquiorra hurried to the door and grabbed his keys and some extra cash from his room and met Grimmjow downstairs. "Ready?" Grimmjow asked and Ulquiorra replied, "If you are." Grimmjow opened the door and they hurried outside together.

Above them, thunder boomed far off in the distance and a cold wind blew through the trees.

* * *

Ulquiorra and Grimmjow stepped from their cab three blocks in advance. The traffic had started to get worse and they risked running late if they stayed inside for much longer. Ulquiorra hurried after Grimmjow who walked in long strides down the street and quickly matched his place.

"Have you seen this movie before?" Grimmjow asked and Ulquiorra said, "Can't say that I have. I've wanted to, though." Grimmjow smirked. "Ha! Finally! I was beginnin' to think there was no movie I could show you that you hadn't already seen!"

He sounded very proud of himself over something so simple. Ulquiorra found it amusing as well as endearing. "You've seen it? Is it as good as the book?" Ulquiorra asked and Grimmjow said, "I think the movie's a hell of a lot better than the book. It's probably my favorite movie ever made."

"Really? You like it that much?"

"Yeah, it's great. Haven't seen it in too long, should be fun to see it again." Grimmjow said excitedly. They were near the movie theater now and they stopped to wait for the light. Grimmjow was silent, his brow furrowed in though. He glanced at Ulquiorra and said,

"Hey, about what you said back at home," Ulquiorra looked over in interest. Grimmjow looked away from him and tried to figure out what exactly he'd say next. "I needed to hear that, so…thanks." Ulquiorra hadn't been expecting a thank you. Grimmjow really sounded like he meant it. "Was there any doubt?"

Grimmjow said, "Kind of, yeah. I ain't used to people liking me for anything other than my looks. Not in the way that you do anyway. But I don't have to worry about it now, so great." Grimmjow said quickly and as casually as he could, clearly not used to talking about such a personal insecurity.

The light changed and Grimmjow hurried away and Ulquiorra walked briskly to catch up with him. "Plenty of people like you Grimmjow." Ulquiorra said, falling into step beside him. "Nelliel, your coworkers, me."

"My coworkers?" Grimmjow said with a raised brow. "Quit bullshitting me, I drive 'em up the wall!" Ulquiorra argued, "If you do, they certainly seem to see past that. They think you're fantastic, I've heard them." Grimmjow said, "Bullshit!"

"Not at all." Ulquiorra replied and Grimmjow shook his head with a grin. He quickly morphed it into a smirk. "Course they like me, I'm fuckin' awesome." Ulquiorra snorted. "Don't get ahead of yourself." Ulquiorra abruptly stopped walking, his eyes going wide at the sight that he saw. A massive line that went down two blocks was stretched out before them.

"That ain't all for the _movies_, is it?" Grimmjow asked and Ulquiorra stood up on his toes to see ahead of them. To his disbelief, he saw that the line went from this street to the movie theater on the next block. "What can be showing that is this popular?" Ulquiorra wondered, finding this to be ridiculous.

Grimmjow looked around at the people in the line and sneered. It was mostly teenage girls, all of them chattering obnoxiously loud. "Must be that fuckin' vampire movie." Grimmjow said distastefully and Ulquiorra took his hand and led him away down the street towards the theater.

The line inside the theater was worse. The doors were blocked up with shrieking teenage girls eager to see their movie and the lobby was even more crowded and the lines to the box office looked impenetrable.

Grimmjow took one look inside and swore, looking like he was reconsidering this idea. Ulquiorra had his doubts too, but it was Grimmjow's birthday and he didn't want him to be disappointed. Ulquiorra gave his hand a squeeze and led him inside. "Ulquiorra," Grimmjow began hopelessly but Ulquiorra said, "Let's at least say we tried." And Grimmjow grunted in response, not looking optimistic.

* * *

Ulquiorra knew that hoping was fruitless. They were in the line for nearly an hour to try and see their movie before they lost patience and walked outside to find that it had gotten dark out and that rain was pelting down from the sky.

Ulquiorra breathed a sigh of relief to finally be outside and Grimmjow leaned back against the building behind him. "Fucking hell…" he breathed.

Ulquiorra nodded in silent agreement. He looked apologetically to Grimmjow and said, "I should have planned this out more." Grimmjow waved a hand at him. "Doesn't matter." It really did though. Ulquiorra felt like this day just got worse and worse. "Yes. Yes it does." Ulquiorra replied bitterly.

Grimmjow rolled his eyes. "Yeah, you should have used your fucking _God powers_ and summoned lightening down from the sky to zap all these annoying kids outta our way! Christ, Ulquiorra, give yourself a break." Grimmjow noticed Ulquiorra still looked sour and clapped him on the back. "Come on, I'm starving. Let's go to dinner, stuff our faces and get a little drunk, huh?"

Ulquiorra's spirits were lifted a little. There were still opportunities to make his day a good one. Ulquiorra hailed a cab and called up to make reservations at their favorite restaurant.

* * *

Ulquiorra knew he should have seen this coming. They were stuck in traffic and had been for nearly fifteen minutes now. Ulquiorra wanted to punch something, anything at all. He just wanted to give his boyfriend a good birthday, was that just _too_ much to ask for? He was beginning to think someone out there hated him.

Beside him, Grimmjow breathed an impatient sigh and drummed his fingers against the windowsill. Ulquiorra looked over at him and felt a wallop of disappointment hit him hard in the chest. Ulquiorra couldn't let Grimmjow's day end like this. Ulquiorra handed the driver some money and said, "Let us out here." Grimmjow looked left and right. "Here? There are cars everywhere."

"Do you see them moving?" Ulquiorra asked, opening his door and stepping out into the rain. Grimmjow followed, slamming the door behind him. They maneuvered their way through a sea of car to get to the sidewalk and Ulquiorra was about to step foot onto the sidewalk when Grimmjow seized his shoulder and wrenched him back before he could be plowed by a Chinese bicyclist.

"Watch it, jackass!" Grimmjow barked and Ulquiorra grabbed his hand and pulled him onto the sidewalk. There was no time to be getting into fights with Chinese food deliverers. They had ten blocks to walk and only five minutes to get there. They hurried down the street, blinking rain from their eyes and shivering as their clothes quickly became soaked through.

By the time they reached the restaurant, they were soaked to the skin and breathless. Ulquiorra held the door for Grimmjow and they both stepped inside and Ulquiorra approached the front desk where a cheerful-looking blond stood to welcome them. "Hello and welcome. How can I help you gentlemen this evening?"

"I booked a table for two for 7:00 under Ulquiorra Cifer." Ulquiorra answered, brushing his wet hair out of his face. The blond usher checked his book and made a face. Ulquiorra frowned. They hadn't butchered the spelling of his name had they? "Yes, I see. I'm sorry gentlemen, but that table was taken fifteen minutes ago. The policy of our establishment demands that any reservation that is missed goes to our blind patrons next door."

"_Missed_? We didn't miss it, we were a little late!" Grimmjow exclaimed. "I'm sorry sir, but there's really nothing I can do about it." Ulquiorra refused to believe that he'd dragged Grimmjow out in the rain for nothing and he said, "That's fine, do you have another table?"

"No, sorry, we're completely booked. Unless you'd like to wait an hour or—?" He looked from one to the other anxiously. So that was it, then. They were soaked, hungry and miserable and for what? Ulquiorra left the restaurant and walked back out into the rain.

He'd tried, he really, really had.

So why had nothing worked? He felt like such a failure.

Unable to even look at Grimmjow, Ulquiorra hailed a cab to take them home.

* * *

Ulquiorra stood slumped over the counter in the kitchen, listening to the sounds of the shower running upstairs. With a sigh, he slipped his eyes closed. How could today have gone any worse? He felt terrible that he couldn't give Grimmjow the birthday he deserved. And it was their first one together, too.

_Well, at least now we know how all the others will go, _Ulquiorra thought bitterly.

Celebrating birthdays had been much simpler when he was little, especially when he'd still had his mother around to help him. Everything had been much simpler then, but then again, not as simple as they could be. He remembered the first time he'd celebrated his father's birthday, his mother had given him a card to give his father. When she'd handed her card to him, his father's face had lit up like a beacon.

He hadn't even spared the letter Ulquiorra had written him a single glance. Granted, it had been four year old quality, but still...Year after year of that kind of treatment and Ulquiorra had just given up altogether on sending his father anything. Nothing he'd done had ever been good enough.

And it still wasn't.

Ulquiorra gave the cake he'd made Grimmjow a bitter look, like it was the cause of all his problems. Why would tonight be any different? At the end of the day, he might only make Grimmjow feel as disappointed as his father had always felt. No, not "might", he _would _because he always had. The stuff Ulquiorra had got Grimmjow was rubbish! None of it communicated what Grimmjow meant to him, it was just a bunch of junk.

Negative thought after negative thought was piling up in his head; half of these thoughts weren't even true but he believed them anyway, and some of the thoughts were so exaggerated that he_ knew _they weren't true, but they still hurt and filled him with doubt.

He wanted to get rid of the stuff he'd bought Grimmjow. He didn't know how he would feel if they were all rejected. It had been hard enough to watch his father disregard every one of his efforts to show him that he loved him. Ulquiorra was so tempted to throw out the cake and just forget that he'd ever made it, he was wishing that he'd bought a premade cake now, anything would be better than his.

_I'll do that next year then, _Ulquiorra thought bitterly. He needed to start planning the rest of the evening. Ulquiorra opened the kitchen drawer and pulled out some candles and set them on the counter. He arranged the twenty-seven candles neatly in the cake. He sighed. On Grimmjow's twenty-eighth he would make sure things went smoother.

Would there be a next year though?

The thought made him freeze. _Don't think that, of course there will be a next year, _he thought.

He'd thought that way too after his mother's birthday, that there'd be so many more to come but before the new year had even come around, his mother was gone.

Grimmjow was perfectly healthy now but Ulquiorra knew from personal experience that life was unpredictable. God forbid it, but if something_ did_ happen to Grimmjow, did Ulquiorra really want to look back on their last year together and remember that he'd held back on their time together because of a few scars from his past?

The scars left by his father hurt and perhaps they always would. The scars on his chest left by Nnoitra had hurt at first, but they'd healed overtime and the terrifying memories of how he'd earned them no longer kept him awake at night. And that had been because he'd had someone to hold onto when the nightmares became too much.

The scars he was thinking about were two different kinds, one was emotional, the other was physical, but Ulquiorra knew that the only way scars truly healed was with time and by being able to rely on others to help ease the pain with him.

If his metaphorical ramblings made sense, which Ulquiorra hoped they did, then the only way he would get over this fear of rejection was not by getting rid of the things he'd gotten Grimmjow, but by trusting that he wouldn't discard the affection Ulquiorra was trying to share with him like his father had.

Why would Grimmjow do that anyway, Ulquiorra reasoned; Grimmjow might be brash at times but unlike his father, Ulquiorra knew for a fact that Grimmjow genuinely cared about him, despite that he put restrictions on how much he allowed himself to show he cared. Beginning to feel just a little bit better, Ulquiorra took in a slow breath and looked down at the cake.

How would he present this cake? He didn't want to just dim the lights and set it down on the table. Today had been bland enough and somehow, he really wanted to make this a night Grimmjow would remember. But they were stuck at home, how could he make_ that_ unforgettable?

Ulquiorra lit the first candle and at the sight of the little, flickering flame, he got an idea. And no, it wasn't to light the house ablaze. But he needed candles and _lots _of them! Ulquiorra heard the shower turn off upstairs. Grimmjow couldn't come out quite yet. Ulquiorra jumped the stairs two by two until he reached the bathroom and knocked on the door. "What?"

"Grimmjow, stay in there for just a little bit longer." Ulquiorra ordered.

"Why?" Grimmjow called.

"Just do it. I'll call you when you can come out, but do _not_ come out until I tell you."

Ulquiorra didn't hear Grimmjow's response before he moved swiftly to the broom cupboard outside the laundry room. A broom fell out the moment he opened the door and Ulquiorra latched onto it to prevent it from falling as he reached up towards the top shelf and pulled out a red candle. He pulled out four more and hurried downstairs.

In preparation for Hurricane Sandy a few years ago, he'd rushed out and bought at least fifty of these candles. He hadn't imagined he'd be so excited to use them again. He had to make several trips up and down the stairs so by the end of his decorating, he was a little breathless but proud of his work. "Can I come out yet?" Grimmjow called impatiently.

Ulquiorra's stomach did a backflip and he called, "Not yet, just one moment." Ulquiorra hurried into the kitchen and lit the last of the candles on Grimmjow's cake before he gingerly carried the cake into the living room and set it down in the middle of his pristine glass coffee table. He draped the afghan blanket on the floor and placed two of his finest china plates and some dining utensils on the coffee table.

It was perfect.

"Ulquiorra, god dammit! Can I—?"

"Alright…Come on out!" Ulquiorra called to him, turning off the overhead light in the living room and turning eagerly towards the stairs. The door upstairs was thrown open and Grimmjow stomped out. "Finally!" Grimmjow exclaimed. "I like surprises Ulquiorra, but only if they're at least _hinted_ at and—," Grimmjow's words died in his throat.

The first thing he noticed were the candles on the stairs, not on every step, but placed evenly after every other step. His eyes followed the candles from the stairs to down below where he could see Ulquiorra standing in the dark looking up at him expectantly. Curious and excited, Grimmjow descended the stairs and entered the living room, but it didn't resemble Ulquiorra's usual neat living room.

Ulquiorra had transformed his plain living room into a spectacle of golden candle light. It was beautiful; every candle had been placed with care, creating a picturesque scene that Grimmjow hadn't imagine he'd ever see outside of a movie. Ulquiorra looked to him expectantly, but Grimmjow was at a loss for words. He'd never imagined that anyone would do something like this for him.

Feeling like he should at least try to form a coherent sentence, Grimmjow opened his mouth and tried his hardest to think of what to say, but no words seemed remotely good enough. He looked to Ulquiorra hopelessly and Ulquiorra seemed to understand for tender amusement filled his green eyes and he beckoned for Grimmjow to join him on the afghan blanket.

Grimmjow scrambled over to him and seated himself on the blanket beside Ulquiorra and stared at him in awe. "You don't have to say anything if you don't want to." Ulquiorra assured him and Grimmjow stammered, "No, hey, sure I wanna, I just... uh…shit…" Grimmjow had never looked so speechless before. Ulquiorra felt a smile tug at the corner of his lips.

"…Never thought I'd see Ulquiorra Cifer hangin' around so many candles," Grimmjow joked, "You ain't worried about a fire, or somethin'?" Ulquiorra said, "No, I actually am quite worried about a fire incinerating my home, but I think tonight is worth the risk." Grimmjow chuckled. "Just watch, those'll be our last words." Ulquiorra's lips twitched into a smile and he gestured to the red velvet cake he'd set up on the coffee table. "_Fuck_, this is incredible." Grimmjow whispered, looking over the writing on the cake and the neat arrangement of the candles. "Can I?" He asked and Ulquiorra nodded.

Grimmjow sucked in a breath and blew out the candles on the cake. Cloudy smoke wafted up from the candles and Ulquiorra removed them one by one in order to cut Grimmjow a slice of the cake. Grimmjow took notice of the fancy setup with the china plates and the utensils and whistled. "Shit. This is better than any service we coulda gotten at that restaurant."

His words filled Ulquiorra with pride. Ulquiorra set a slice of the fluffy red cake onto Grimmjow's plate and frowned, feeling like something was missing. "Not quite. Just a moment." Grimmjow watched him curiously as Ulquiorra jumped to his feet and hurried into the kitchen. Ulquiorra returned with a bottle of wine and some wine glasses.

Grimmjow set the glasses down for him and Ulquiorra stood and quickly searched the CD holder beside his television until he found the recording he was looking for and put it into the stereo. The classical score began to play and Ulquiorra sat back down beside Grimmjow.

Grimmjow just shook his head in astonishment. "Christ, Ulquiorra…" Ulquiorra poured Grimmjow a glass of wine and Grimmjow quickly took hold of the bottle and said, "Hey, let me. Not fair you're doing all this by yourself." Ulquiorra really didn't mind but he didn't want Grimmjow to feel too overwhelmed with kindness.

Grimmjow poured Ulquiorra a glass and set the bottle down. They stared at one another for a moment, admiring the way that the candlelight lit up the other's eyes. "Happy birthday, Grimmjow." Grimmjow's normally firm face looked soft enough to touch, the flickering candlelight danced in his bright blue eyes and his lips were lifted in a tender smile.

"Thanks." Grimmjow lifted his glass and Ulquiorra held his glass up to Grimmjow's and they connected with a soft _clink_. They drained their glasses and Ulquiorra served himself a slice of cake. He cut of a small piece of his slice and raised it to his lips but hesitated and glanced over at Grimmjow, watching his reaction closely. Grimmjow took a large section off his cake slice and stuffed it in his mouth and chewed.

His eyes went wide. Ulquiorra swallowed, watching him closely. Grimmjow began to shovel the cake into his mouth with sloppy enthusiasm. "This is fucking amazing!" Grimmjow exclaimed, already nearly half way done with his slice.

Ulquiorra wanted to hug him.

"Where'd you get this? Couldn't have been from my work place, no one there makes 'em this good!"

"I made it." Ulquiorra responded and he felt no small amount of pride in admitting to it. Grimmjow paused, about to have another slice. He looked to Ulquiorra with wide eyes. "You're kidding, right?" Ulquiorra shook his head and said, "I made it this morning after you left for work. I went for the recipe that had the most positive reviews and this one seemed like the best choice to go with."

"Yeah, the cake is fucking awesome, but you _made _this?" Ulquiorra frowned in confusion. "Why are you so surprised? You've had some of my cooking before."

"That's not the _point,_ Ulquiorra." Grimmjow said seriously. "Any idiot can make a cake, it ain't rocket science." Ulquiorra had no response, he was intrigued by the tone Grimmjow's voice had taken on. Grimmjow didn't seem to want to talk anymore about it and looked away from him.

Ulquiorra slowly returned to his cake and stole a glance at Grimmjow every once and while. Grimmjow had a very serious expression on his face and he looked deep in thought but certainly not unpleasant thought. He almost looked confused. After a moment, Grimmjow returned to his cake but he ate it much more slowly this time.

They finished their cake simultaneously and, wanting to break the silence, Ulquiorra reached onto the couch behind him for Grimmjow's gifts. "Here." Ulquiorra said, setting the bag down between them and Grimmjow looked down into the bag with curiosity.

Ulquiorra suddenly became aware of how few items were in the bag and he frowned. "It isn't much. I wanted to get more but my wallet got st—lost," Ulquiorra said quickly, not wanting to upset Grimmjow. Grimmjow reached into the bag and pulled out the wrapped Dark Souls game and said, "It's fine, Ulquiorra." Grimmjow sounded completely honest with just a fleck of surprise in his voice, like he honestly hadn't been expecting anything.

Ulquiorra took in a slow breath through his nose, trying to calm the beating on his heart as Grimmjow removed the wrapping paper. A radiant grin burst across Grimmjow's face and his eyes danced with humor. He tossed back his head and laughed aloud. "This game! This fucking _game_! Oh man!" Ulquiorra hadn't anticipated such a reaction. Did Grimmjow like it or not?

"What about it?" Ulquiorra asked and Grimmjow said, jabbing the cover with his finger, "This fucking game drove me nuts! I couldn't even finish it, I had to take a break for _months_, but I never stopped wanting to get back to it! Oh man…" Grimmjow sounded absolutely gleeful despite saying that it drove him nuts. A weight was lifting from Ulquiorra's shoulders and he felt happier than he had all day.

"Do you like it?"

"This game makes me madder than a bull in a china shop, but fuck yeah, it's awesome!" Grimmjow exclaimed with child-like glee and a smile that lit up his whole face. Ulquiorra felt like he could have floated off the ground. Grimmjow flung an arm around his shoulders and pulled Ulquiorra close enough to give him a kiss on the temple.

"You're damn amazing." Ulquiorra numbly gripped Grimmjow's arm and gave it a pat, feeling lighter than air. Grimmjow set the game down on the couch behind them and reached into the bag for his next item and Ulquiorra watched him with new found interest.

Grimmjow pulled his next present from the bag and eagerly unwrapped it and when he saw what was inside, the glee on his face melted away. Ulquiorra's heart plummeted. Grimmjow stared at the flyer jacket with an unreadable expression on his face. He looked it over and noticed two, smaller wrapped items snuggled within the wrapping paper he'd just removed.

He had an idea as to what they were, but he didn't let himself guess and quickly removed the wrapping papers to reveal a black scarf and two pairs of leather gloves. The scarf was clearly made of wool, it was bound to be warm and when he slipped the gloves on, realized that they were lined and soft against his skin. These would be warm, too, he could tell already.

He had everything he needed to stay warm this winter and Grimmjow realized that until now, he'd never really felt that way. When his mother had left him, she hadn't left him well prepared; he was left with the clothes on his back, what little food they had left and a worn out, cheap coat that was too big for him. He'd left his home in the middle of the coldest time of year, hoping that somehow he'd find his mother.

Instead, he'd found nothing but bitter freezing cold, hunger so intense he felt like there was hole blown right through his gut that nothing could fill, and fear and loneliness like nothing he'd ever felt before.

He'd gotten so cold, he couldn't speak, and his toes had gone numb inside his moth-eaten shoes. He'd lost feeling in his hands and his fingers had grown stiff and when he did find shelter and they'd start to warm, his hands and toes would swell and itch and it was such a painful experience that it had left him in tears until the pain had grown habitual enough that he was accustomed to it.

When he'd outgrown his only coat from home, he'd had to resort to other means to attain warmth for the winter. When he was ten, it had been stealing from stores. When he was fifteen and older, it was stealing coats and, if the cold became too much, charming his way into a stranger's home, and if he felt lonely enough, their bed.

Without resorting to stealing or conning, no one had ever offered him anything out of the kindness of their hearts, not without something in exchange.

"Grimmjow?"

Not until now, anyway.

Grimmjow looked around the room, at the candles, the cake on the table, and was left with a lump in his throat. What the hell had he ever done to deserve a day like this; to be given a delicious homemade cake, to have warm clothes and gifts given to him without the expectations of receiving anything in return, to have a day that not even his own mother would celebrate planned out with such thought, love and care—what the hell had Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez _ever _done to be worthy of this?

Only twice in his life now had Grimmjow ever felt this loved, and both times had been because of Ulquiorra Cifer.

"I knew this was a bad idea." Ulquiorra's voice was full of remorse. "I should have been thinking properly. It's a World War II jacket; I just gave a World War II jacket to a Japanese man."

If Grimmjow hadn't been about to cry he might have just burst out laughing.

"I should have just gone with some cologne or something, anything but that."

"Ulquiorra, shut up."

"I might as well just go and accuse all Germans of being Nazis while I'm at it."

"Ulquiorra, just—!" Grimmjow exploded and Ulquiorra jumped and looked at him with wide eyes. Grimmjow felt ashamed of himself for his outburst, but honestly how was he supposed to think of any words that were equal in measure to describe all that Ulquiorra had done for him, both today and in the time that they'd known each other, while the man was blabbering?

But it was hopeless. Nothing was good enough. All Grimmjow could do was stare at him, feeling as bare as the day he'd been born, and wonder how it was possible for him to love someone as much as he loved Ulquiorra right now.

It shouldn't be possible, it couldn't be possible, but it was.

This kind of love only ever happened once in a lifetime and somehow, out of one in a million people, _Grimmjow_ was lucky enough to be experiencing it right now.

And he didn't want to waste a single second of it.

"_Fuck_, I love you, Ulquiorra."

And Grimmjow leaned in and kissed him with all the feeling in the world.


End file.
